Laos and Thailand to have freight rail link by 2015

Vientiane - Laos' 3.5-kilometre railway link to Thailand will be able to handle freight by 2015, news reports said Monday.

Laos was to build the required facilities at its end of the Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge by 2015, the Vientiane Times reported.

"Construction of a yard to store containers and lifting facilities will begin at the end of this year," said Bounchanh Xaybounheuang, a senior official at the Lao Railways Authority.

The project will be financed by a 1.65-billion-baht(55-million-dollar) loan from the Thai government.

The road and rail bridge was opened in 1994, and links Nong Khai in Thailand to Laos on the other side of the mekong River. The railway extends another 3.5 kilometres to the Lao capital Vientiane.

The train service has so far been limited to passengers, mainly foreign tourists.//DPA